


Flying

by TheLongRoadHome



Category: Air Gear
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 05:44:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3238487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLongRoadHome/pseuds/TheLongRoadHome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He looked back up at the building, feeling it suddenly grow taller, it’s shadow engulfing him, It was like Ikki’s back, he was always looking up at it, but could never reach that high.</p><p>The thing was, did he really even want to?</p><p>After all, what was he without Minami Itsuki?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flying

“Fuck!” Kazu yelled at the top of the factory chimney, the muscles in his shoulders bunched and his nose scrunched up in anger. How _dare_ they fuck with him like that? He could still see Ikki’s stupid, bastard, smug-ass face looking down on him after just having gotten up.

And he’d really fucking thought that Ikki would have made such a stupid mistake of killing himself. He wasn’t a newbie anymore; he could handle a tiny drop like the one he’d feigned death on, off their school building earlier. Even Kazu knew that, yet he was immediately ready to patch the idiot up and stick the asshole back on his perch where he belonged. Above him. Why was it he would react calmly with anyone but Ikki?

The problem was he’d been so fucking _worried_ that the idiot had seriously hurt himself; he had been on the verge of fucking _tears._ And he was angry not because he’d been tricked for a small-balls joke by the stupid crow, but because of his own equally stupid reaction. As if that wasn’t screaming; I’ve fallen for you, you big stupid asshole. As if that didn’t just tell him how much he gave a shit. And what was worse? The way he’d punched Ikki’s stupid, idiotic, cocky, obnoxious face and run off, not looking back and wiping moisture from his eyes.

“…fuck”. Kazu sighed. Way to give it all away. He shivered. This wouldn’t make anything easy, just downright awkward, he couldn’t have said it in any worse way, except maybe trotting up to their leader, hips jutting out, swinging a handbag and screaming ‘I’m a fag now.’

He looked back up at the chimney, feeling it suddenly grow taller, it’s shadow engulfing him, It was like Ikki’s back, he was always looking up at it, but could never reach quite that high, or when he was nearly there, it pulled away from him. He scowled. Riders around here avoided this chimney, it was infamous for being one of the only places where you couldn’t wall-ride, since it was built out of such liquid-smooth concrete and was so high. As far as he knew, no rider has ever made it to the top. The material was so robust Agito hadn’t even been able to carve his own path in it. Ikki had managed to reach about halfway, Bucca had got a little further than that, and even Onigiri had a go at it. Kazu glared at it’s top. He’d never been the wall climbing type.

Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling he still wanted to have a go.

Not that he’d ever done it before. Not that he’d make it. Just, maybe, if he could shove Ikki’s nose in it, just once, he’d be able to claw back that little bit of respect he’d totally blown today. _Ikki’s respect, huh?_ Kazu hated admitting to himself how worth it the attempt would be. He hated being accused of being the crow’s little bitch, but how could he not? Nothing else crossed his mind but AT and Ikki. He barely slept these days from the amount of thinking, always how to get better, always how to be seen in a better light by…

Well… Ikki.

Because to Kazuma Mikura. He was the most important person. He always would be.

Kazu wheeled away, frowning. There was no fucking way. If Ikki couldn’t do it, there was no hope for him, especially when he had little to no experience wall riding. The little he had was due to the cube battles, and that was just because he’d been going as fast as he could and jumping at the corners…

…Why couldn’t he just do that with this chimney? All the other guys had taken a run up and used their momentum and a few tricks to keep going in the right direction, and he had been told many times by Ikki how fast he was. Perhaps he was in with a chance.

He grit his teeth and shook his head, not noticing where he was skating. He looked back at the chimney one last time.

 _Funny,_ it didn’t look so big from back here, now he was out of its shadow.

_Stop it, brain. It’s a bad idea. Your wings are for speed, not for…_

**Flying?**

_Yet, isn’t that what wings are for? If you can’t fly with wings, you’ll be useless without them. To everyone. To Ikki._

Kazu turned to face the goliath chimney. He gulped, and the bump in his throat fell to the pit of his stomach His legs felt heavy. He hoped it would make him faster. He crouched into his usual starting position, and breathed slowly. This was it.

He felt the wind scream past him, pushing at his back, urging him onward. The city was alive. It seemed to whisper his countdown to him.

_…3…_

_…2…_

_…1…_

**_Go!_ **

****

He took off, his legs straining. Harder, push harder! Faster! Go! The ground ripped away beneath him, the air burning his face, wind howling at his heels, city urging him, singing to him, _stronger, faster, higher! Jump!_ He could have laughed with it, sung along to it’s pounding rhythm, howled with the wind, except he needed that air, he needed it so he could keep going.

The chimney rushed toward him, he felt his legs leave the ground automatically, felt his knees absorb the landing, felt his feet stick to the smooth surface, before he’d realized that somewhere in the jump he’s shut his eyes. The wind teased his eyelashes till bam! The world was racing around him again, and he could hear the world laughing, and he laughed with it. He crouched low to the side of the chimney and felt himself go faster still, shooting up the side like he was aiming for the moon; felt the concrete scream away below him. He felt as though he could reach and just simply touch the sky, and he wondered, if only for a moment…

_I wonder if this is how Ikki feels?_

Kazu looked up and glimpsed the top of the chimney. Gravity seemed to fade away and he felt that joyous moment of being totally weightless. He’d made it! The top of the chimney called out as he whooshed by.

He’d done it! Ikki’s smug bastard—eat that! His stomach fluttered. He’d got up there! He’d…!

 

Run out of chimney.

 

And the wind stopped howling, the ground stopped screaming, the city stopped singing to him. His feet missed the friction, only the air span pathetically across his wheels, his hands grasped at a sky that wouldn’t hold him, and for a moment, the world had just simply let go of him, like a broken doll. He felt himself stop moving, the wind stopped tearing at his jacket and stopped threatening to whip his beanie off, and one Kazuma Mikura, came to the stomach lurching realisation that he was about to fall a very, very, very long way. The earth below seemed to grin and open its granite teeth, welcoming him in for the tea party, extending its pipe hand to claw at him.

That was, until his guardian angel cut in.

“WAHOO!! Fly, Kazu! Fly!” And he smiled. That was just like Ikki.

Of course, when it came to Ikki, he was very good at following his team captain’s orders. And who could resist a command like that?

So he twisted, spread his arms and embracing the fall, and felt the wind whoop in joy. He felt himself grin like a lunatic, and he could feel Ikki’s eyes on him, and yet he didn’t feel uncomfortable. The side of the huge chimney rose up to greet him, and he came down the same way he’d gone up, flying as fast as his skates would carry him, as fast as his watering eyes could take. He decided he liked it, this wall climbing thing. He felt somehow victorious, and looked for the crow as he flew, through heavily watering eyes. Ikki was atop a roof staring up at him, and Kazu knew, without being able to see, that they were both grinning like crazies. His coat flapped wildly and his legs began to shake. And Ikki watched, feeling oddly proud of the Blond racing downwards. He closed his eyes and laughed, skating toward Kazu’s landing point. Riling the guy up could sure produce some unexpected resul—

There was a rather sick sounding smack. Ikki’s eyes shot open and he gulped. A little button of panic rose in his gullet like bile. ‘Shit’ was the only available word in his vocabulary.

“KAZU!” The crow called, before skating like a maniac to look over the edge of the building tiles to the tarmac and concrete below. The blonde lay face down in the dirt at the bottom of the pinnacle that struck out into the sky, his trademark beanie crumpled, and several meters away from where it should have been; on Kazu’s head. It wasn’t often Ikki was rendered speechless, yet this was one of those moments. He raced faster than he had in weeks to get to the body of his best friend. He didn’t quite know what to do, which was rare for the Storm King.

“Kazu?! Kazu?! Shit man, get up! Kazu!” Ikki growled, kneeling next to him not knowing where to touch, till he heard a wheezing and a slight cough.

The blonde idiot rolled over, face to the sky and arms outstretched, like he was flying all over again, that is, until Ikki bundled him, knocking the air out of him.

The crow smirked at the Jet below him, who was coughing from the sudden attack.

“Shit Kaz - that was amazing! And don’t freak me out like that! How the fuck did you manage that? The rest of us couldn’t do it!” The leader growled a little, but let it slide, looking up at the chimneystack. He didn’t like being afraid, and god knows a fall like that would have killed anyone, he was damn lucky Kazu had the balls and the skill to pull something like that off with only his beanie looking damaged. The blonde didn’t answer straight away, looking up at where he had just been. Ikki absentmindedly picked the beanie up, gripping it tightly and grinning still like a loon.

“Now you know how it feels.” Kazu let slip before he could help himself.

 _Bollocks,_ he wasn’t meant to bring that up, it’ll remind Ikki of how…shit. He needed a break; this whole thing was going to be a giant mess by the end of the night. He shoved Ikki hastily off him, which the crow didn’t like at all. He frowned.

“You still PMSing over that? Jeez Kazu, I’m sorry already.” Sure, it wasn’t the best thing he could have said, though usually when he insulted him it diffused his anger a fair amount. He hated his best friend being angry with him, and he knew that his stunt earlier had been a pretty mean, stupid joke to pull, yet he just liked the idea of the attention and fawning he’d get off the younger man, which he partly got, until Kazu whacked him. He rubbed his jaw with his free hand for emphasis. He did admit to having an infatuation with his best friend, a rather ridiculous man-crush, though it would all stay in his head. No point in worrying the guy when he’s already got enough on his plate without him adding to it.

The Jet, however, immediately felt guilty. He wasn’t meant to keep butting heads with Ikki like this, and he knew he was only doing it because he was frustrated. Ikki had to pull out the woman jokes when he was having a serious crisis of sexuality here. Fucking crow. So instead, he skated away, trying not to retort and calm himself down. _Concentrate on the road._

“Oi! What’s gotten into you lately?” Ikki followed Kazu, pulling level with him easily, thankful that that the blonde wasn’t anywhere near his top speed so he wasn’t left eating dust. Ikki shoved the beanie in his pocket and grabbed hold of Kazu’s shoulder, spinning him so they faced each other. Kazu’s eyes widened, but corrected himself quickly. He had hoped Ikki wouldn’t notice that things were getting a little out of hand. He shrugged noncommittally, looking anywhere but the crow’s intense gaze, hoping Ikki wasn’t going to drill him for anything. If he did it was likely the Jet would snap.

“Seriously, one moment you’re happy, next you’re beating me up, next your scaring me shitless on some awesome adrenaline rush and now you’re ignoring me. What the fuck is up with you?” Ikki questioned, not really meaning it to sound as harsh as it did, and he knew deep down he deserved the cold shoulder, but that didn’t explain Kazu’s temperamental state recently. Ikki was almost nervous that his friend had guessed that he was bent for the jet, but figured that it would probably make Kazu distant rather than schizoid. Something was bothering the blonde, and he was hell-bent on not letting it drop till he knew exactly what.

Kazu was tempted to grind his teeth, he hunched his shoulders, hoping Ikki would see his discomfort and drop it. “Nunthin’s up with me. I’m fine.” He shot a quick look sideways at the crow who was staring back unbendingly.

That’s bullshit man. You think I can’t tell when my best mate’s got his panties in a twist?” Ikki growled, digging his fingers into Kazu’s shoulder.

“Will you quit with the fucking woman jokes already, I’m not fucking gay!” He spat back, which took Ikki by surprise. His grip slackened a little, and as Kazu tried to turn Ikki pulled him back.

“I never said you were!” Ikki licked his lips hurriedly. “Why? Does it bother you? Care to share?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Kazu’s face fell.

Dammit, Ikki seriously didn’t know how attractive he was. All those years of being second best to his magnetic, vibrant personality was a difficult place to be, especially when you were self-defeating, pathetic Mikura Kazuma. The shadow was too large, the distance between them too big, and yet all he wanted to do was just reach up and touch that face, those wings, to fly with him, just the once. And just standing there, being all suggestive, well, that just drove him mad. Madly in love, and just simply mad. His head drooped, and he looked down at his shoes awkwardly.

Ikki groaned, knowing he’d just driven the boy back into his shell. “Uh, look, I’m not gonna think you’re weird if you really are gay or anything…” the crow sighed, irritated with himself.

Kazu’s head shot up. “I’m **_not_** fucking **_gay_**! You’re the only one who I…” Kazu’s sentence ended in a strangled noise as he realised what had just come out of his mouth. It didn’t take an idiot to figure it out, even with a half finished sentence, and by the dumbfounded look on Ikki’s face he was pretty sure he’d blown it in a big way.

A million curses bladed right through his brain, and the only temporary solution he could come up with was running.

After all, it was all he’d ever been good at.

Ikki was fucking dumbfounded.

By the time he’d got his head together, Kazu was nowhere in sight.

He swore under his breath and gave chase, hoping that the jet would just go straight home so he could catch up. If the blonde kept running he wouldn’t stand a chance of catching him; Ikki’s chances were virtually zero.

He crossed his fingers as he rode and stroked the threadbare fabric of the hat in his pocket with his other hand, racing quick as he could through the street after Kazu’s scent, looking down every junction to see if he could catch a glimpse of that dejected blonde head. He took the shortcut of racing over the train lines and across the rooftops to Kazu’s street, and took a deep sigh of relief when he found the hall light on. Of course, it could always be Kazu’s sister, but she was normally studying late at college on days like today. His crossed fingers squeezed tighter. Typical Kazu to beat himself up over his own stupid hang-ups, he could have at least had the balls to stay, or say the rest of it. Ikki dropped to the tarmac, praying his best friend was home. He didn’t bother calling out his name, and opened the door, happy to find it was unlocked. The idiot’s AT’s had been thrown down in the entry hall, which Ikki made a point of picking them up and hiding them, before taking off his own and putting them next to Kazu’s. Now the blonde wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping without his getaway vehicle. He looked up the stairs and listened. There was no noise. Ikki began to feel uncomfortable. _Fuck it all._

He practically marched up the stairs and looked up when he heard the door click open in Kazu’s room, and the blonde himself peered out from the dark. He eyeballed him, but Ikki did not stop, marching up and throwing all his weight against the door before Kazu could slam it shut on him. Kazu fell to the floor, grunting, and Ikki made a point of towering over him before grabbing his collar.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?! Fuckwit!” Ikki spat at him. The blonde cringed, drawing the crow’s attention to the red patches and moisture around his eyes. Ikki felt guilty, guiltier than he’d felt since cutting all Ringo’s hair off in junior school. Guiltier than…god knows. “Ah, shit, sorry man…I didn’t mean…” Kazu didn’t meet his eyes.

Ikki tried again. “Hey, hey,” he cooed. “Look at me.” Kazu frowned and looked up.

“Just get on with it Ikki. If you came here to say something, just get it over with!” Kazu shouted, shutting his eyes and trying to draw as far away from the other boy as he could.

“What makes you think I’m here to drop your ass?!” Ikki snapped back.

“Well you ain’t exactly here with a bouquet of flowers on a white horse coming to profess your undying love…” Kazu shut his jaw with an audible click, blushing bright crimson. “f-forget it Ikki, don’t bother.” He could feel his eyes beginning to water and his voice scratch at his windpipe. He scrambled up to his feet, Ikki following him still with a firm hold of his Hoodie. “It’s not like we--” Ikki shoved him against the wall, which he hit with a grunt.

“You want a white horse, AT’s better do for now, you want a bouquet or something, have your stupid hat back.” He said, removing the garment from his pocket and shoving it on his head at a crooked angle. “Now shut up already.” He grinned, before observing Kazu’s downtrodden face. “Fuck Kazu, what will it take?” Ikki tried to glare, his stare being softened by Kazu’s invisible touch. Ikki instead grinned. They were both pretty damn lucky after all…

“I love you too, you fucking moron.”

Kazu only remembered having the living daylights kissed out of him after that, and for once he held absolutely no resentment for Ikki being above, or, in fact, all over him.


End file.
